Rotoworld: Oregon RB LaMichael James and Oklahoma State WR Justin Blackmon among top 10 players who are being overhyped for the 2012 draft.
SportsTalk: Albert Pujols signs with the Angels and Prince Fielder joins the Tigers. Which team is better now?
The Detroit Red Wings equaled an NHL record with their 20th straight win at home, beating the Philadelphia Flyers 4-3 Sunday night on the strength of Johan Franzen's tiebreaking goal early in the third period.
PBT: Boston's Rajon Rondo continues to be named in trade talks, which is madness. The Celtics guard creates offense and makes everyone around him better, which was evident in Sunday's win over the Bulls.
Arc's five up, five down: After No. 11 Michigan State's 58-48 upset of No. 3 Ohio State, you'd be a fool to discount the Spartans' national title chances now.
Miami coach Al Golden says the worst is behind him, but his headaches figure to continue now that former booster Nevin Shapiro, now in jail, says his involvement with the Hurricanes program will result in stiff penalties.
Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods both greeted Sunday with unbridled optimism. But the day would end happily only for Mickelson.
The United States completed a 5-0 rout of Switzerland in the Davis Cup on Sunday, with 19-year-old Ryan Harrison and John Isner winning closing singles matches.
Zambia has won the African Cup of Nations, beating pre-tournament favorite Ivory Coast 8-7 on penalties in a dramatic final at Stade de l'Amitie.
Tessa Worley of France fought off gusting winds to win a second consecutive World Cup giant slalom Sunday in the Andorran Pyrenees. Overall leader Lindsey Vonn was more than a second behind and finished eighth.
Robins: It’s the Year of the Dragon on the Lunar calendar, and this Chinese influence could extend to it also being the year of the Pekingese on the green carpet at the 136th Westminster Dog Show on Tuesday.
BENIDORM, Spain - Top-ranked Rafael Nadal beat Novak Djokovic 6-4, 6-4, 6-1 on Sunday to clinch defending champion Spain’s victory over Serbia in the first-round Davis Cup series.
Nadal’s win gave Spain an insurmountable lead and a place in the quarterfinals, before David Ferrer beat Viktor Troicki 6-0, 6-3 in the meaningless last singles match to round off a 4-1 win.
The third-ranked Djokovic struggled with his serve and unforced errors on the outdoor clay at the Terra Mitica amusement park as Spain clinched its 15th straight home tie.
Spain, which failed to advance from the first round as defending champion in 2001 and 2005, will welcome the winner of Germany-Austria in July. Serbia lost in the first round for the second straight year and will play in the World Group playoff.
“For various factors, it wasn’t good for us, it wasn’t nice to lose the way we did,” Djokovic said. “We just have to hope for the best draw come September.”
Nadal, the top-ranked player and four-time French champion, won for the 121st time in his last 124 matches on clay as he made a spotless return to the court after injuring his right leg at Rotterdam last month. On Saturday, Nadal routed Janko Tipsarevic to put Spain up 2-0.
The 22-year-old Nadal joined his Spanish teammates in the stands to celebrate alongside a crowd of 14,000 after the victory, which improved his overall Davis Cup record to 11-1.
“The surface favored me, the ball was jumping high. I felt comfortable and he committed more errors than usual,” Nadal said.
Nadal, who improved his overall record to 11-4 against the Serb including 6-0 on clay, brushed off suggestions that Djokovic’s form had been poor this season.
“We’ve had two months of competition and he won Dubai, one of the biggest tournaments. I don’t see any problem,” Nadal said. “He always plays at a high level.”
Serbia’s only point came from doubles on Saturday, when Nenad Zimonjic and Troicki beat Tommy Robredo and Feliciano Lopez 7-6 (5), 6-4, 7-6 (7).
The United States completed a 5-0 rout of Switzerland in the Davis Cup on Sunday, with 19-year-old Ryan Harrison and John Isner winning closing singles matches.
 | Slideshow |
 |
NBCSports.com |
 | Slideshow |
 |
The Week in Sports Pictures The Giants on top of the football world, getting ready for the London Olympics and more. more photos |
Zambia has won the African Cup of Nations, beating pre-tournament favorite Ivory Coast 8-7 on penalties in a dramatic final at Stade de l'Amitie.
Wesseling: Each NFL team enters the offseason with a series of pressing needs. Sometimes a team can address them all, sometimes they ignore them all. But if a team's smart, they'll listen to us. These are the most crucial aspects for AFC teams.
Ryan Callahan scored for the fifth time in four days and defenseman Ryan McDonagh snapped a second-period tie to lift the New York Rangers to a 3-2 victory over the Washington Capitals on Sunday.
